People, Locations, Episodes

The Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society is Formed

*The Pennsylvania Abolition (or Abolitionist) Society (PAS) was founded on this date in 1775.  It was also known as The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage.    PAS was the first American abolition society. It was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and held four meetings. Seventeen of the 24 men who attended initial meetings of the Society were Quakers, that is, […]

Gabriel Prosser, Abolitionist born

The birth of Gabriel Prosser in 1776 is remembered on this date. He was a Black abolitionist.

A slave child, Gabriel was born to the family owned by Thomas Henry Prosser of the Brookfield Plantation in Henrico County, Virginia. Viewed as a “man of courage and intellect above his rank and life,” Prosser was a imposing figure. He was dark-skinned and stood 6 feet, 2 or 3 inches tall. He had lost two front teeth and his head was scarred. Unlike many slaves, he had been educated in his youth, and became a blacksmith, which gave him access to life beyond the plantation.

Frank McWorter, Abolitionist born.

*The birth of Free Frank McWorter is celebrated on this date in 1777.  He was a Black slave, abolitionist, and businessman who bought his freedom.   Frank McWorter was born into slavery in South Carolina to Juda, a Black West African woman abducted into slavery and transported to the colony. His father was her white master, George McWhorter, a Scots-Irish planter. According to family tradition, Juda […]

James Tallmadge, Abolitionist born

*James Tallmadge, Jr. was born on this date 1778. He was a White American politician and abolitionist.

Born in Stanford, Dutchess County, New York, he graduated from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island in 1798, and was secretary to Governor George Clinton from 1798 to 1800. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1802, after which he practiced in Poughkeepsie and in New York City. He served in the War of 1812 and commanded a company of home guards in defense of New York.

Opothleyahola, Native American Chief, and Slave Owner born

*The birth of Opothleyahola is affirmed on this date in c. 1778. He was a Native American, Muscogee Creek Indian chief, noted orator, and slave owner. Also known as Opothle Yohola, he was from Florida, a Speaker of the Upper Creek Council, and supported traditional culture. Although known as a diplomatic chief and Red Stick […]

Catherine Ferguson, Minister, and Child Advocate born

*The birth of Catherine Ferguson in 1779 is celebrated on this date. She was a Black minister and advocate of childcare.

Grace Bustill Douglass, Abolitionist born

*The birth of Grace Bustill Douglass is celebrated on this date in 1782.  She was a Black abolitionist and women’s rights advocate.   Grace Bustill was born in Burlington, New Jersey, to the Bustill family, a well-known abolitionist family. Her father was Cyrus Bustill, a strong leader in the community and promoter of the abolishment […]

Elihu Embree, Abolitionist born

*Elihu Embree was born on this date in 1782.  He was a white-American abolitionist and the brain trust of the Genius of Universal Emancipation, one of the first newspapers in the United States devoted exclusively to abolishing slavery.   Embree was the son of a Quaker minister who moved from Pennsylvania to Washington County in East Tennessee around 1790. It is unknown where he attended school, although some accounts suggest he was taught […]

Shubael Conant, Merchant, and Abolitionist born

*Shubael Conant was born on this date in 1783.  He was a white-American merchant, silversmith, businessman, and abolitionist.  Shubael Conant, the son of Eleazar Conant and Eunice Storrs, was born in Mansfield, Connecticut. He was apprenticed to the business of watchmaking at North Hampton and became thoroughly familiar with that trade. When twenty-six years old, […]

Charles Avery, Abolitionist born

*Charles Avery was born on this date in 1784. He was a White European merchant, businessman and abolitionist.

John F. Webber, Soldier, and Abolitionist born

*John Webber’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1786. He was a white-American soldier and abolitionist.  John Ferdinand Webber was born in Vermont, the son of John Webber and Hannah Morrill.  As a soldier in the War of 1812, he served as a private in Capt. S. Dickinson’s company.  He was in the thirty-first […]

Arthur Tappan, Abolitionist born

*Arthur Tappan was born on this date in 1786. He was a white-American businessman, philanthropist, and abolitionist. Arthur Tappan was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, to Benjamin Tappan and Sarah Homes Tappan, a great-niece of Benjamin Franklin. He was the brother of Ohio Senator Benjamin Tappan, abolitionist Lewis Tappan, and a great-grandfather of Thornton Wilder. They were […]

Peter Williams Jr., Priest and Abolitionist born.

*The birth of Peter Williams Jr. is celebrated on this date in 1786.  He was a Black Episcopal priest and abolitionist. Williams was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the son of Peter Williams Sr., a Revolutionary War veteran, and his wife, Mary “Molly” Durham, an indentured servant from St. Kitts. After his family moved […]

Quakers, and American Abolition, a story

*Quakers and American abolition are affirmed on this date in 1787.  Quakers (the Religious Society of Friends) were the only large religious American denomination to make it a requirement of membership to refuse to enslave people.  Quakers struggled internally for a century to come to this place.    Quakers such as John Woolman and Benjamin Lay […]

The Underground Railroad in America, a story

The Underground Railroad, the organization which helped escaped African slaves from the South on their journey to freedom in the North and Canada, begun in 1787, is celebrated on this date.